The Government’s lead economic advisor warns a new policy aimed at attracting more migrants to the regions would achieve nothing.

According to documents released under the Official Information Act, Treasury told Finance Minister Bill English on July 16 the new Government measures were unlikely to help regional development.

The measures went to Cabinet for approval on July 20 and the increased bonus points on residency requests was announced on July 26. Under the revised scheme, skilled workers who take jobs in the regions or set up businesses there will have their points to calculate whether residency requests should be approved increased.

However, the July Treasury briefing to Mr English had warned the policy changes were unlikely to have a consequential impact for regional development. Read more »

Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner has pleaded for negotiations over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, saying that Britain was happy to talk to “mass murderers” but not her democratically elected government.

Mrs Kirchner used her annual state of the nation speech to Congress to declare that she would not give up her diplomatic fight for the Malvinas, the name for the islands in Spanish, and ruled out another military invasion.

“The world is clamouring for dialogue,” she said in a reference to support for the Argentine claim from Latin America and Africa. “Argentina once more demands the UK … sit down for talks over sovereignty.”

Uhmm no the world is not clamouring for anything over the Falkland Islands. Read more »